This Night
by Darth Maximus
Summary: Lord Voldemort has finally finished off the last brushes of the master plan: to take Hogwarts once and for all. This night he will start off the Last Battle, but who will emerge victorious? Canon, oneshot and slightly H/Hr.


_**This Night**_

**Disclaimer:** Do I look like JK Rowling to you?

**Summary:** Lord Voldemort has finally finished off the last brushes of the master plan: to take Hogwarts once and for all. This night he will start off the Last Battle, but who will emerge victorious? Canon, oneshot and slightly H/Hr.

**A/N:** What can I say? I was bored. Came up with a few ideas, chucked them around a room, and voila! You have a story.

Enough of my ramblings.  
-Darth Maximus

"This night," Voldemort hissed. "This night, we will take Hogwarts once and for all. We will crush them, and totally destroy them. Avery, are you sure the wards are completely down?" Avery sketched a quick bow.

"My Lord, the wards are waiting for you signal to collapse. Any break before that would warn the Headmaster of a breach," he replied, basking in the attention. Voldemort smirked cruelly.

"_Crucio!"_

Avery's screams rang through the entire room. The Inner Circle Death Eaters shifted and muttered. Voldemort finally lifted the curse.

"Tonight we make no mistake," he whispered, but his voice penetrated every corner of the room. "No mistakes." He sat back.

"We will apparate into the Forbidden Forest, where the acromantulas and Giants are waiting. We will storm the castle while the Giants and acromantulas guard the exits. There will be no possible escape. Harry Potter will finally be destroyed, once and for all!" his twisted smirk only frightened the on-edge Death Eaters more. Voldemort suddenly snarled at them.

"Get moving! We will all be there in at the most, five minutes." He disapparated with a sharp CRACK. The remaining Death Eaters eyed each other nervously, before all of them disapparated. None of them wanted the unpleasant business of being the last man to arrive.

**TNTNTNTN**

_Why did I ever become a Death Eater?_ Lucius questioned himself as he charmed his mask to stick to his face. He was to lead the first squad through the main entrance; through the Great Hall. Was it karma, plain bad luck, or Lord Voldemort hating him? He was the group most likely to be decimated and sent off to Azkaban. Lucius' thoughts wandered. He had been to Azkaban once. The dementors there had chilled him to his marrow and more. After that, he had been afraid to set a food nearer to Azkaban than needed. His musing was interrupted by one of the junior Death Eaters.

"Malfoy! Where do we go now?" he whispered to him. He realised he had just been standing there for a whole minute.

"We've lost enough time already," he snapped to the squad. "Let's get moving!"

**TNTNTNTN**

Harry sat rigidly at the Gryffindor table. According to the Order of the Phoenix and its spy, Severus Snape, there was going to be an assault on Hogwarts, at around this time. Hermione sat next to him, whispering comforting things into his ears, but tonight Harry barely heard a word she was saying. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dumbledore stand up. The Great Hall fell silent as Dumbledore stood, looking grave.

"This night, Lord Voldemort will be making a surprise attack upon our Hogwarts itself. He will be bringing in all he has, to attack our weakened wards surrounding us. Many of us will be in danger, I fear. All students, save those in sixth and seventh year who wish to fight, please make your way to your dormitories. Thank you," he spoke. There was no sound in the hall, then as a crash shook the Hall itself, there was a sudden panic as students pushed and shoved to get out. Remaining were most of the sixth and seventh year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, and a few Ravenclaws. There were no Slytherins.

"Lock the Slytherins in their dorms," Harry said. "And block their Floo."

Dumbledore bowed his head sadly, and gazed into space a moment before he snapped back.

"It is done," he said. He suddenly appeared to age another ten years. CRASH! The Great Hall shook again, and suddenly the doors crashed open, and a mass of black hell swarmed through.

"_Reducto!"_ Harry aimed the curse at the feet of the Death Eaters. The students spread themselves in a line and started aiming curses. Beside Hermione, Ginny let fly with a Bat Bogey Hex, leaving an unfortunate Death Eater clawing at his face.

"_Stupefy! Reducto!"_ simple spells seemed to work against the Death Eaters. Suddenly, the mass parted and the spells died down. Lucius Malfoy stood in the centre of the group, mask firmly in place.

"Relinquish Hogwarts to our Lord," he spoke. "A rabble of students are no match against the Dark Lord's friends."

Harry stepped forwards and threw a particularly nasty hex in his direction, then spun out, kicking the Malfoy senior in his family jewels, and then in the head.

"Wake up in Azkaban, Malfoy," he spat, then let loose a flurry of spells. Madness raged in the Hall once again as both sides struck out with all they had. The students' ranks were thinning down, and Dumbledore saw it too.

"Let loose hell," he shouted, and then the Weasley twins came.

On brooms, they dropped various jokes and jinxed objects on the Death Eaters. Many of them fell, unsuspecting of the danger above. Suddenly, there seemed to be only half of the Death Eaters left.

"_Crucio!"_ the Unforgivable curse caught Harry as he turned his back. He stumbled back, then fell on the floor writhing. Then, his Occlumency training kicked in as he placed the curse in a back corner of his mind.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ the smirking Death Eater was blown backwards, a stupefied expression behind his masked face. With an effort, Harry destroyed the curse in his mind, then continued. The ranks of the Death Eaters thinned out, and suddenly there were only four left. The Hogwarts students cornered them and they were quickly stunned. Dumbledore took a quick survey of the students. Many of them were hurt, and some dead. Harry was hugging Hermione, relieved that she was safe while Ron was helping the injured to Madam Pomfrey. Shouts wafted through the doors to the Great Hall, still open.

"The Aurors have arrived," Harry said unemotionally. His voice was quiet, but it penetrated. Dumbledore shook his head.

"Enough for the students, I think," he replied. "There are enough Aurors. Let them deal with it."

**TNTNTNTN**

Voldemort glared into the night as he killed another Auror. Things were not going as planned. Malfoy had still not confirmed possession of the Great Hall with a Dark Mark, his Death Eaters were being slaughtered all over the field, and somehow, they had been alerted to his presence.

With an effort, he calmed his mind. It did not matter if Lucius had secured the Great Hall or not now. He _had_ to kill Harry Potter. Calm rage surfaced and he purposefully strode to the entrance. Cursing a man who had followed him, he entered.

Harry looked up just in time to see Voldemort's tall shape enter the Hall. Brilliant green eyes met ruby red in a challenge, and Voldemort broke it off first.

"Potter," he hissed. Harry rolled his eyes at him and fingered his wand.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_ Voldemort bit out. A sickly green jet of light sped at Harry, but he merely sidestepped it.

"Getting cheeky, are we?" Voldemort smiled cruelly. "We'll change that, I think." He moved fluidly into a formal duelling position. Harry copied him, and Dumbledore, recognising a formal duel without the formalities, levitated a Death Eater's mask into the air.

"When the mask drops to the ground, you may begin," he said. He dropped the mask, and before it touched the ground the two duellers were already moving.

They battled to and forth for a long time, neither giving way. Voldemort had refrained from using the Unforgivables, but now his icy calm snapped.

"_Crucio!"_ he snapped out. Harry, already tired, was caught off-guard and was hit by the curse. He fell to the floor, screaming in agony. Outside the duel, Hermione choked off a cry, and Harry remembered her.

_Think of Hermione, think of Hermione,_ he told himself. Sectioning off the curse, he directed a reductor curse at Voldemort and threw off the Unforgivable. Harry painfully climbed off the ground, and at that moment Voldemort acted.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

"_Expelliarmus!"_

A golden beam of light connected the two brother wands, and the pulsing bead in the middle appeared.

_Shift._

The bead of light wavered and haltingly made its way to Voldemort's side, then paused. It started to slowly go back, but Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. Slowly, but surely it disappeared fully into Voldemort's wand. Voldemort exploded with a shower gold sparks, and faded.

**TNTNTNTN**

Two days ago, Harry and I were married at Hogwarts. It was really spectacular, and Harry looked absolutely stunning.

It's been two days since Voldemort's death and Aurors are still rounding up Death Eaters, at least the ones that didn't die when Voldemort was destroyed. I keep saying that, that Voldemort was dead. I've barely thought about it at all, actually. It's probably because Harry and I were so busy preparing for the wedding.

I can't believe we actually won the battle in the Hall, now that I look back. Many students that I knew, and some that I didn't know died, all for the light. But now, I suppose, is time to look to the future. I see happiness in the future, and a good life.

_Fin._

**A/N:** Review review review!!


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